THE HAKA CLASSIC RALLY 2016

30 October to 25 November 2016

A spectacular, 5354km competition on the North and South Islands of New Zealand

Over 26 days in October and November – spring in the southern hemisphere – the Haka Classic Rally explored the majestic landscapes of New Zealand. As with all Rally Round events, this was designed to be more than just a competition for vintage and classic cars, although there were certainly plenty of exciting challenges for rally experts and novices alike. Experienced Clerk of the Course Peter Rushforth and Deputy CoC Rhys Nolan plotted a fabulous 5354km route from Auckland to Christchurch, featuring an amazing variety of world-class attractions and insights into the country’s fascinating culture, not least its rich motorsport heritage.

With relatively short daily driving distances and a variety of special excursions, there was ample time to relax and savour the whole experience, time to enjoy the most luxurious accommodation the country has to offer, to eat and drink and laugh, to make and strengthen friendships or simply to stand and stare at some of the world’s most awe-inspiring wonders, from the unalloyed brilliance of the Milky Way to rare wildlife, lush temperate rainforests, strange volcanic landscapes, active glaciers, deep lakes and dramatic mountains. Unmissable destinations included the Forgotten World Highway and Whangamomona, Milford and Doubtful Sound, Lake Wanaka, Hamner Springs, Franz Josef Glacier and Lake Taupo, not to mention several locations chosen to represent Middle Earth in Sir Peter Jackson’s movie interpretations of Tolkien’s Lord Of The Rings and Hobbit tales – a trip to Hobbiton was just one of many event highlights. Of course the country is rich in real history too, from Maori legends to the memories of latterday explorers, pioneers and settlers, and indeed the lives of all who make New Zealand what it is today.Proving that you don’t need to be a rally expert to win, overall victory was eventually secured by Australian novices Justin Gan and David Hart. Driver Justin had competed in closed-road targa-style events in Australia before, but never in a regularity rally, while navigator David had no previous rally experience at all. All the more remarkable, then, that having taken the lead on Day 11, the 1969 Porsche 911T crew were never seriously challenged, and won by a margin of almost two minutes. Second overall were early rally leaders Gerd and Birgit Buhler in their 1938 BMW 327/28 Sport Coupe, who kept pushing to the end and were rewarded with top honours in the vintage category. Third overall were classic 1970 Ford Escort Mexico crew Tracey and Hayden Burvill, and we must also applaud Dorothy Caldwell, at 98 the world’s oldest rally navigator, who guided son Alastair to seventh place overall in their 1963 Rolls-Royce Silver Cloud III. To unanimous approval the Spirit of the Rally Award was presented to John and Ginny Horton, who participated wholeheartedly in every aspect of the event and remained ever cheerful and positive even when their big Cadillac DeVille let them down. The Coupe des Dames Award naturally went to Annette Abaci and Julia Edwards in the 1931 Invicta, and a special Sparklimg Performance Award was given to Michael Eatough and Morgan Roberts in recognition of their achievement in amassing 254 penalties for early arrival on the final regularity section of the rally.

Congratulations are due to every single competitor – especially the novices – who successfully negotiated the thrilling route from Auckland to Christchurch, much of it on challenging gravel roads and sometimes in very poor weather – they even escaped a major earthquake! You may re-live the adventure via our rally blog – click the button below – and you can peruse the results in full at the bottom of this page.

The results table below has been ordered to group competitors by Class (Vintage, Classic & Touring)

No

Driver / Co-Driver

Car (Class)

Penalties

Position

Day 1

Day 2

Day 3

Day 4

Day 5

Day 7

Day 8

Day 11

Day 12

Day 13

Day 14

Day 18

Day 20

Day 21

Day 23

Day 24

Day 25

Day 26

Total

Class

O/A

1

Erich Hoop / Alice Hoop (LIE/AUT)

1926 Bentley 3.0 (V)

138

60

595

600

900

82

241

679

1800

55

53

207

437

83

104

147

337

840

7107

5

12

2

David Berks / Barbara Berks (GBR/CAN)

1929 Chrysler 75 (V)

69

0

52

300

110

27

9

79

248

10

24

9

27

35

30

103

17

11

1160

3

6

3

Annette Abaci / Karl Heinz Estar / Julia Edwards (GBR/DEU/GBR)

1931 Invicta S-Type (V)

840

0

300

542

527

240

1800

1080

498

381

64

256

389

463

372

127

118

278

6012

4

10

5

Karl Schafer / Stephanie Schafer (DEU/DEU)

1934 Rolls-Royce 20/25 (V)

85

0

91

179

180

480

720

720

720

1080

840

480

1176

1560

1560

720

1440

720

11211

6

13

6

Michael Wilkinson Anne Wilkinson (AUS/AUS)

1937 Alvis Speed 25 SA (V)

44

0

74

236

142

14

30

163

34

23

6

9

88

74

23

26

46

12

970

2

5

7

Gerd Buhler / Birgit Deymann-Buhler (DEU/DEU)

1938 BMW 327/28 Sport Coupe (V)

122

0

0

92

46

42

13

128

20

11

5

8

125

19

25

37

21

9

684

1

2

4

Rudi Friedrichs / Helga Friedrichs (DEU/DEU)

1966 Mercedes-Benz 230SL (C)

57

0

86

140

69

34

11

197

12

15

44

8

43

24

16

19

15

5

795

3

4

8

Jorg Lemberg / Christian Lemberg (DEU/DEU)

1990 Mercedes-Benz 560SEC (C)

222

60

36

600

1800

155

617

1800

1800

1800

1800

1800

1800

1800

1800

1800

1800

1800

23290

12

18

11

Walter Knunz / Birgit Knunz (AUT/AUT)

1955 Mercedes-Benz 220a (C)

169

60

720

600

900

240

189

430

1800

88

32

8

321

28

20

132

373

840

6761

7

11

12

Louis Lemberg / Isabel Peil (DEU/DEU)

1989 Mercedes-Benz 190E (C)

73

60

15

600

186

56

192

960

1800

1080

72

14

249

1440

1800

1800

1800

1800

13097

11

17

14

Jacqueline Pohl / Niklas Pohl (DEU/DEU)

1962 Mercedes-Benz 280SL (C)

420

0

152

600

222

12

334

683

79

70

24

26

258

1800

1800

1800

1800

1800

11880

10

16

15

Alastair Caldwell / Dorothy Caldwell (GBR/GBR)

1963 Rolls-Royce Silver Cloud III (C)

101

60

88

86

140

22

45

248

40

50

41

276

110

51

46

47

50

19

1520

4

7

16

Andreas Pohl / Nathalie Pohl (DEU/DEU)

1965 Mercedes-Benz 220SEB (C)

253

60

292

417

255

26

86

499

58

109

124

360

133

1440

1800

1800

1800

1800

11312

8

14

17

Robert Peil / Gabi Peil (DEU/DEU)

1966 Mercedes-Benz 230SL (C)

328

0

111

477

243

98

380

568

54

189

100

77

332

1440

1800

1800

1800

1800

11597

9

15

18

Justin Gan / David Hart (AUS/AUS)

1969 Porsche 911T (C)

119

0

0

179

17

15

5

9

23

7

6

12

6

26

17

36

26

11

514

1

1

19

John Horton / Ginny Horton (USA/USA)

1965 Cadillac DeVille (C)

214

0

148

404

375

81

286

559

35

76

60

6

600

123

90

37

26

23

3143

6

9

20

Tracey Morris / Hayden Burvill (GBR/AUS)

1970 Ford Escort Mexico (C)

73

0

102

261

83

13

9

7

19

23

12

12

85

18

14

25

15

5

776

2

3

22

Michael Eatough / Morgan Roberts (GBR/GBR)

1966 Mercedes-Benz 230S Fintail (C)

85

0

154

379

223

18

72

179

48

34

21

8

142

38

54

32

44

254

1785

5

8

10

Adrian Shooter / Barbara Shooter (GBR/GBR)

1952 Bristol 401 (T)

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

N/A

N/A

21

Jan van Gemert / Marion Huijbregts (NLD/NLD)

2016 Ford Mustang (T)

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

N/A

N/A

“A stupendous rally, really outstanding. Extremely well organised and action packed. An abiding memory will be of the great camaraderie and endless laughter.We cannot think of a single thing that would have made it better”
Adrian & Barbara Shooter (1930 Ford Model A) – The Road to Mandalay Rally 2014

“Thank you for three unforgettable weeks, the mixture of laughter, friendship, culture, history, driving and fun. What a cocktail!”

Peter Baker (1939 Citroen Traction Avant) – Paris-Madrid Rally 2014

“Words cannot express how amazing this rally was – truly a once in a lifetime experience!”

“What a trip! Another fantastic Rally Round effort – seamless logistics, excellent route and wonderful activities. Once again you and your team created a superb experience. We had a fantastic time in Japan and we look forward to our next outing!”